The present invention relates to an exercising device and, more particularly, to a foldable, portable, cycle-type, exercising apparatus suitable for use indoors, as for example, in homes, businesses, gymnasiums, and the like. Specifically, the invention is directed to an exercise cycle adapted to be rapidly erected for use and quickly collapsed for storage. The foldable cycle is dependably rigid when erected for use and conveniently portable when compactly folded for storage.
There are a variety of exercise cycles available in the marketplace today. There can even be found cycles capable of being folded and transported. However, unlike the present inventive cycle, no cycle encountered is capable of being quickly and easily displayed for use while also capable of being readily collapsed into a compact form for convenient storage in a small space during periods of cycle nonuse. No known cycle-type exercising device utilizes sliding and pivoting legs in combination with a handlebar which folds about the cycle housing.
Typical, folding, cycle-type exercisers might best be exemplified in the patent to Margolies, U.S. Des. No. 218,623,and the U.K. patent application of Lew-Ways Limited, GB No. 2 108 000 A. These cycles, however, both employ a scissor type folding action, resulting in a cycle having an overall height which is greater when folded for storage than when deployed for use. Another foldable/collapsible, cycle-type exerciser can be found disclosed in the patent to DiNepl, U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,800, wherein the cycle folds scissor-like and additionally employs telescoping legs and moveable upright members. The DiNepl disclosure, while providing a cycle having a collapsed state of lesser overall height than its operating state, does not provide a cycle which pivotally receives collapsing legs nor does it provide a handlebar that folds about the cycle body when the cycle is in its storage position. Thus a feature embodied in the present cycle of having a cycle compactly folded for storage cannot be found in the teachings of DiNepl.
Additional foldable exercise cycles may be found in the patent to Buchmann, U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,312, and the patent to Eichholz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,607. Buchmann, like DiNepl, provides for cycle collapsing by virtue of telescoping members, does not contemplate a cycle having pivotally extending and retracting legs, and does not envision a handlebar folding about the cycle body when the cycle is in its storage position. The Eichholz cycle features disassembly of seat and handlebar structures and partial disassembly of leg support structure to achieve an exercise cycle in its collapsed storage or transport state.
The present inventive exercise cycle was developed to provide a cycle which is economical to manufacture and can easily be converted from a rigid, upright operating position to a compact, nonoperating storage position and redeployed for use with equal facility. The cycle requires no disassembly and its compact size in the folded, nonuse state provides a device which can be comfortably carried and conveniently stored in accessible but relatively small spaces such as under a desk, in a corner of a closet, and on a shelf, to name but a few storage locations.